Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Geometridae Members:	Phaeoura Members:	159 NC Records

Phaeoura quernaria (J.E. Smith, 1797) - Oak Beauty Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Geometroidea

Family:
Geometridae

Subfamily:
Ennominae

Tribe:
Nacophorini

P3 Number:
91a1251

MONA Number:
6763.00

Other Common Name:
American Oak Beauty

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Nacophora quernaria); Beadle and Leckie (2012)

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution:

County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.


Flight Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge
Immature Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Our records come from maritime forests, Longleaf pine communities, riverine and non-riverine swamp forests, mesic hardwood slopes, cove forests, and high elevation forests

Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous, feeding on many species of hardwood trees and shrubs. Wagner et al. (2001) specifically list birch (Betula), ash (Fraxinus), poplar (Populus), cherry (Prunus), oak (Quercus), willow (Salix), basswood (Tilia), and elm (Ulmus). In North Carolina, larvae have been recorded on oak and hickory. - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Shrublands

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S4S5]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Phaeoura quernaria - Oak Beauty Moth

114 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-18 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Kaitlyn Elliott on 2025-05-08 Cumberland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Kaitlyn Elliott on 2025-05-08 Cumberland Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Kaitlyn Elliott on 2025-05-08 Cumberland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-05-01 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-04-27 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-04-26 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-04-20 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-04-05 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-04-05 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-04-05 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-04-05 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2025-04-04 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-04-02 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-04-01 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: G. Newman on 2025-03-31 Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-03-29 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2025-03-29 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-03-28 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2025-03-28 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-03-26 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-03-26 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-03-26 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-03-26 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell and Simpson Eason on 2024-06-20 Graham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-06-19 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-05-27 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-05-27 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-20 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-05-16 Buncombe Co. Comment: